


El Diablo

by super_sides_me



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 06:37:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12835422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/super_sides_me/pseuds/super_sides_me
Summary: Virgil visits a pet store late at night to get the perfect pet tarantula only to find that one of them has somehow escaped its enclosure. He seeks help from the only worker there at the time: a man named Patton.





	El Diablo

Virgil walked into the pet store at a fairly late and unreasonable time. It was about fifteen minutes until closing, but he’d finally convinced his roommate to let him get a pet tarantula and he wasn’t going to wait a second longer to find the perfect little guy. The store was almost completely void of all people, which was to be expected at the time. He didn’t like talking to strangers much anyway. It didn’t take long for him to find where the tarantulas were, a variety of them, all of different patterns and sizes. He took a moment to look at each of them closely. If he was going to get a pet, it would need to be the perfect one. It was like getting a child. That’s how important this was.  
  
He’d passed on about three or four tarantulas when he’d noticed something kind of odd. One of the containers in the section was, for some reason, empty. Upon further investigation, he found that the container was opened and it had most likely escaped. This wasn’t good at all! The poor little thing could get hurt if someone stepped on it or rolled a cart into it. He couldn’t bare thinking about something like that happening.  
  
Virgil moved quickly, searching for an employee. He spotted a man in the cats and dogs section, looking in on the sleeping animals. “Excuse me.” He called, just loud enough, so he could hear him. The man turned to him with a wide, friendly smile and he could spot the name tag. “Patton. There’s a problem.”  
  
“Well, I’m sure I can help you with that problem!” Patton was almost a little too joyous, but Virgil liked his smile, so he didn’t mind. He would have more time to enjoy it if the situation weren’t so dire.  
  
“I think one of the tarantulas escaped.” Right as he said it, Patton’s smile fell and his face grew pale.  
  
“The who did what now?”  
  
“The tarantula.” He restated. “I don’t know how long it’s been out.”  
  
“Oh…fudge!” Patton seemed panicked and unsure of what to do about the situation.  
  
“You…really don’t like spiders, do you?”  
  
“No! They’re horrible and creepy. And their little legs and-“ He breathes rapidly. “Oh gosh. What are we gonna do?”  
  
“We’re gonna have to look for it.” Virgil said matter-a-fact. “Before something happens to it.”  
  
“You’re right. I know you are.” He took a deep breath and whined. “I’ll follow your lead.” He took a step closer to Virgil, almost touching him. Virgil looked at Patton but didn’t say anything as they ventured forth. Patton stayed just a step behind in case they ran into it and Virgil didn’t mind keeping a step ahead, so he could keep his eye out for the thing.  
  
“My name’s Virgil.” He spoke. “By the way.”  
  
“Oh, that’s a lovely name.” Patton was back to his cheery state, but only for a moment until he seemed to remember that there was a tarantula crawling around the shop and he once again became cautious.  
  
“Thanks.” Virgil mumbled, but was unheard. He bit back a smile that tried to form.  
  
“If we see it…what do we do?”  
  
“I pick it up and put it back where it’s supposed to be.”  
  
“You’re just gonna…pick it up?” Patton’s face was a mixture of shock, fear, and awe mixed into one.  
  
“Yeah. What else would I do?”  
  
“I don’t know…get a bag? Or a hazmat suit?” Patton suggested, slightly startled when Virgil huffed out a laugh as if he was joking.  
  
“It’ll be fine.” Virgil insisted. They kept moving forward slowly, sure to examine every inch of the place to spot the tarantula. They went by the array of tarantulas still in their respective containers. When Virgil showed the empty one to Patton, he heard the man gasp.  
  
“Oh no…” At Patton’s words, Virgil became nervous that there was something he didn’t know about the situation, something bad.  
  
“What? What is it?”  
  
“No…” Patton wrung his hands together anxiously. “Not El Diablo.”  
  
“El Diablo?” His eyebrows furrowed as Patton nodded.  
  
“It’s the largest tarantula we have.” He explained, his voice full of regret, probably from ever being hired in the first place. “A really creepy flippin’ thing.”  
  
“You named him?” Virgil asked, his nerves now replaced by amusement.  
  
“Yeah, why?”  
  
“No reason.” He snorted. “Come on.” He continued on searching for the tarantula as Patton described what it looked like. Bigger than his hand, black, furry, beady eyes, orange on its legs, and a great personality. That last one was a joke, but Patton could only make a strained laugh that worried Virgil. Patton looked like he was gonna pass out the moment they laid eyes on it.  
  
“AAAAH!” Patton’s rather high pitched scream echoed throughout the empty store which caused Virgil to jump and nearly knock over a shelf.  
  
“What was that for!?” Virgil asked, wide eyed, the life scared out of him.  
  
“Oh, sorry. False alarm.” Patton walked over to what he thought was El Diablo out of the corner of his eye, but was really just a dog toy. He picked it up and giggled, showing it to Virgil, who couldn’t help the little smile on his face as his nerves calmed. Patton placed the dog toy back on the shelf and gave a thumbs up to Virgil. Virgil raised a thumbs up back and opened his mouth to speak when he spotted something.  
  
Right on the shelf behind Patton, less than a foot away, was El Diablo.  
  
“Uh, Patton.” He spoke, trying not to freak him out.  
  
“Yes, Virgil?” He asked with a smile.  
  
“Don’t freak out, but…it’s right behind you.”  
  
“What!?” He turned around and the moment he got sight of the tarantula only inches away, he nearly started crying. He broke into a full sprint towards Virgil, nearly knocking him over when he grabbed his arm to keep him close and hid behind him. “Get it! Get it! Get it!”  
  
“I will. Just take a deep breath.” He looked over at Patton, who was still holding onto his arm with a vice grip as he walked towards the tarantula. “Hey, El Diablo.” He spoke, reaching out for it. He tried to ignore the fact that Patton was pressing his face against his shoulder because there were more important things to bring attention to other than the very adorable nature of this man. When Virgil’s hand was close enough, the tarantula walked into it, barely fitting comfortably. He smiled as he looked down at it. If his free hand wasn’t currently trapped, he would have given the little thing a pet on the head. “It’s okay, Patton. It’s not gonna hurt you.”  
  
Patton looked up from Virgil’s shoulder and tensed when he saw El Diablo testing on Virgil’s hand. Its legs moved occasionally an Patton tightened his grip on Virgil. “Let’s put it back.” He said quickly.  
  
“No.” Virgil brought the tarantula closer to him. “I think I’ll buy him.”  
  
“You’ll what?”  
  
“That’s why I came here. To get a tarantula.” He grinned. “I think El Diablo is a good pick.”  
  
“Oh lord.” He let go of Virgil, sighing.  
  
“What’s wrong?” He asked, sensing a distress from Patton other than just the creature he was holding.  
  
“Well…” Patton crossed his arms, his eyes looking everywhere but the tarantula. “It’s gonna be hard for me to date a guy who has a pet tarantula.”  
  
“Oh, w-” Virgil started speaking before he’d even fully processed the meaning behind Patton’s words. He was taken aback, but pleasantly so. “Y-you want to…um…” He rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously.  
  
“I would like to if you want to. You’re just as cute as a button. I was thinking about it when I saw you walking around before the whole…tarantula situation.” He let out a laugh, still mildly creeped out from the tarantula. He watched Virgil for  reaction and then after a moment of waiting, he broke the silence. “I should probably do my job.” He said, walking with Virgil over to help him check out and get everything situated with his new found pet. Virgil was quiet and looked a bit lost.  
  
“I’m sorry.” Virgil said suddenly. “Are you sure you want to?”  
  
“Want to?” Patton asked, head tilted to the side.  
  
“Want to go out on a date with me, I mean.” He clarified, biting his lip.  
  
“Of course. Tarantula and all.” Patton smiled in reassurance, though they both knew that Patton would need time to get used to El Diablo. Virgil’s tense shoulders relaxed at the assurance. This could be good.  
  
“Okay.”  
  
“Okay?”  
  
“Yeah. Let’s do it.” He pressed his lips together to keep himself from smiling too wide. He held the box with El Diablo in it and realized that he had to leave now. It was likely well past closing now and he’d gotten what he came here for. Patton wrote down his phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Virgil.  
  
“Call me when you get home. Then we can make plans.”  
  
“So…” Virgil looked down at the phone number in awe. “It’ll talk to you later, then.”  
  
“Yeah, later.” Patton beamed. “Bye, Virgil.”  
  
“Bye, Patton.” Virgil left the shop, smiling to himself as Patton waved him goodbye.


End file.
